According to evolutionary theory, sheep get bigger in order to survive winters and to reproduce; but this isn't the case on a remote island in Scotland. There the wild Soay sheep have gotten smaller over the past 25 years.
According to a study published in the journal "Science", climate change has made the Scottish winters shorter and thus baby lambs don't need to put on as much weight in the first few months to survive. As these smaller lambs grow into sheep and mate, environment and evolution intertwine. The globally large problem of climate change is producing smaller animals.
According to Russian and U.S. scientists, Siberia's Lake Baikal, the world's largest, most biologically diverse lake, is facing severe ecological change because of global warming. The worst problem is that the lake's food chain is dependent on algae.
Shorter ice periods slow algae growth and algae are the principal food for crustaceans, which are the principal food for fish, which are the principal food for Baikal seals. Because the seals mate and give birth on ice, they could be forced into the water before molting, drastically reducing fertility. Doing nothing, however, is not a seal of approval.
According to environmental experts, the diverse coral reefs of the Coral Triangle will disappear by the end of the century if action isn't taken to fight climate change. If the reefs disappear, so will the coastal economies supporting approximately 100 million people in Indonesia; Malaysia; Papua, New Guinea; the Philippines; the Solomon Islands; and Timor Leste.
The Coral Triangle includes 30% of the world's reefs, 76% of global reef-building, more than 35% of coral reef fish and numerous species of coral. Preventing this disaster requires regional attention to overfishing and pollution, as well as worldwide action on climate change. Climate change requires change.
According to the "Global Humanitarian Forum", climate change disasters kill about 300,000 people a year and cause about $125 billion in economic losses - most being agricultural. The Forum also estimated that 325 million people are seriously affected by climate change and that number is expected to double by 2030.
Rising sea levels, desertification and changing rainfall patterns reduce access to safe drinking water and food - which increases disease. About 99% of those who die because of climate change live in developing countries - countries which generate less than 1% of the greenhouse gases causing climate change. More than climate has to change.
Knight Pierce Hirst has written for television, newspapers and greeting cards. Now she writes a 400-word blog. KNIGHT WATCH, a second look at what makes life interesting, takes only seconds to read at http://knightwatch.typepad.com
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